32,644 Shares in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Acquired by Rice Partnership LLC

Rice Partnership LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 32,644 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,066,000. Valero Energy accounts for 1.1% of Rice Partnership LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 134.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.06.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of VLO opened at $313.68 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $260.29 and its 200 day moving average is $230.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $130.78 and a fifty-two week high of $316.57.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 32.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.